This invention relates to molded-sole-type shoes and the like and is more particularly concerned with apparatus for molding a sole of rubber or plastic, for example, to a corresponding upper.
The assembly of shoes of the foregoing type (e.g., canvas shoes) typically involves an injection molding procedure wherein a sole is simultaneously formed and attached to an upper. Generally, molds for this purpose comprise a pair of mold elements adapted to come together laterally about the bottom of the upper which is usually held fixed on a last. The mold elements ordinarily include inner walls which define the contours of the sole sidewall and respective peripheral edges along the tops of the inner walls. The peripheral edges of both mold elements together constitute a bite which engages (i.e., seals against) the upper during the molding operation and which defines the top of the sole sidewall.
A problem has heretofore existed with molds of the foregoing type in that when the mold elements are brought together, the upper is often pinched at the heel and/or toe between abutted ends of the peripheral edges which constitute the bite. This, of course, results in a defect in the assembled shoe. It has been proposed, in one known attempt to alleviate this problem, to configure corresponding ends of the peripheral edges so that there is a gap in the bite where the mold elements come in contact. A fixed straight blade is attached to one of the mold elements and moves laterally to fill in the gap and complete the bite as the mold elements are brought together. This technique has proved unsatisfactory, however, because the material of the upper is often cut by the laterally moving blade.